Sometimes I run a listing of the stories that we are working on for the Gazette, hoping that a reader will contact me to contribute their experiences to the article. That is exactly what happened the other day when Chef Prosper (pronounced en Français Pro-spare) Namias called me. We were fascinated by the experiences Chef Prosper detailed in the interview. In this first part I will begin with what he is doing today. In the next part I will report on his history in the local restaurant business. As a teaser, I will tell you that he built the first coffee house in Indianapolis, and has worked at Renee's French Restaurant, St. Elmo's Steak House, The Hilton, The Columbia Club, and has had a radio show.

While in California as an exchange student, Prosper lived with his sponsor, a wealthy person with many movie star friends. The refrigerator was always filled, which allowed Prosper to experiment with many recipes. About once a month, his sponsor would have a dinner party, complete with a jazz trio. Important people would come from all over California. Prosper remembers cooking for Ben Cartwright from Bonanza (Lorne Greene) when he came to play tennis, and the widow of Edward G. Robinson when she came to play Bridge on Thursday nights. Back in those days, Prosper was cooking for free. Years later, he returned to his cooking activities and worked as a private chef for many years in the homes of well-known Indianapolis executives such as Mel Simon and Conseco's Larry Inlow. Prosper decided to change from being a full-time chef for one family to begin a new career as a private chef for anyone in the community.

Chef Prosper can now be hired for a dinner or a party, small or large. He can prepare a large dinner party or even a small event like an anniversary dinner for two. "We sit down and plan the menu. I do the grocery shopping, I bring the dishwasher, I bring the server, the bartender, whatever you want, according to your budget. We clean up afterwards. The dishwasher is in the kitchen washing your Limoges or your Grandmother's dishes so it doesn't go in the [automatic] dishwasher. I make the dining experience fun, relaxing, and memorable for the client. If you have 50 people at your dinner, we can bring more helpers. I usually go to Meridian-Kessler homes, but sometimes now I go to Zionsville and Carmel."

Prosper showed me photos of some of the more famous clients, such as Evan Bayh and the Secretary of Defense under President Clinton William S. Cohen. One regular client of Chef Prosper was Cordie King, founder of the first African-American modeling agency in Chicago. Prosper remembers Cordie's parties with Aretha Franklin and Oprah Winfrey's mother. "I sometimes played piano at those parties and Cordie would sing. Those days were a page from history."

Chef Prosper also teaches cooking classes; He has taught at Williams-Sonoma and soon at Charles Mayer & Co., and he also teaches at private homes. "I have a class that is called The Three Musketeers. This is a class for everyone. You don't have to have a huge house for it. If you host a class and find six friends to come, then it only costs each of your friends $45. The classes typically run between 2 and 2.5 hours. I believe in learning a few basics first, and then using your imagination to expand your menu. I asked Chef why the class is called The Three Musketeers. "It is the most popular class. I have people year after year that call and say, Prosper, I use [what I learned] all the time. And to me as a chef it is more rewarding than teaching you how to do Canard a l'Orange, you will enjoy the class, but you will never make it again - it is too complicated. In The Three Musketeers, I take three herbs - basil, cilantro, and parsley. With that, it's like the palette of a painter. We can fill up a table from here to the Broad Ripple Canal with foods made with those three herbs. How nice it is because it's healthy, it's fresh, and it's different. We do fish, meat, vegetables, eggs - the most wonderful eggs you will ever have in your life - and it's so simple and so wholesome. It is a fun time for them and for me, and hopefully I teach you some things from Provence, where I am from."

In the next issue we will delve into Prosper's history and also his vacation home in Provence that he has opened for rent.